Fertiliser debt cleared
Government has cleared all outstanding debts under the Fertiliser Subsidy Programme (FSP), the Deputy Minister of Food and Agriculture, Dr Ahmed Yakubu Alhassan, has said.
Advertisement
He said since the inception of the programme, an amount of GH¢345 million has been invested out of which a total of 724,000 metric tonnes (MT) of fertiliser were distributed to farmers nationwide.
Dr Alhassan told the Graphic Business in Accra that there was no fertiliser debt to pay and that “even for the 2015 crop season, the first two sets of invoices had been sent to the Ministry of Finance and that the two would clear between 90 to 95 per cent of the FSP.”
He assured the farmers that the ministry would always try to make subsidised fertiliser available as early as possible to enable them to continue to supply the country with the needed food supply and to live a comfortable life.
The Programme Officer of the Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana (PFAG), Mr Charles Nyaaba, said the implication of the action by government in settling all debts was good and that next year the companies could supply and farmers and consumers would benefit ultimately.
The FSP
Under the FSP, which was initiated in 2008 to help farmers increase their rate of fertiliser use and increase production, farmers paid only half of the cost of the input, as the government absorbed 50 per cent of the cost.
However, the government was not able to meet its financial obligations to participating fertiliser suppliers as of the end of 2013, and owed them an amount of GH¢64 million.
Some suppliers pulled out of the programme and rather turned to the open market. Consequently, the programme could not be implemented last year.
Other Trending Stories
Part of the challenges that faced the programme was attributed to the holding lack of donor funding for the programme to the extent that at a point it was alleged that government intended to cancel the programme.
But Dr Alhassan said there was no such policy decision to withdraw the programme, or else it would be done in consultation with the same stakeholders before the programme began.
He said the challenge had to do with the fact that the programme was based on warehousing receipts financing system.
Warehouse receipts (WRs) are issued as evidence that specified commodities of stated quantity and quality have been deposited at particular location by named depositors.
He said since there were arrears to be cleared it would be morally wrong to go to the same companies owed to deliver, especially when the amounts involved were not small sums.
Impact of the shortage
The Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana (PFAG) has said the perennial shortage of subsidised fertiliser gravely affected food crop farmers, particularly in the Upper East and Upper West regions of Ghana.
The PFAG said fertiliser was a key determinant of high crop yields to ensure that the country becomes food secure, therefore farmers’ access to fertiliser should be a matter of importance.
FSP 2015
This year, an amount of GH¢90 million was budgeted but was revised to GH¢45 million.
In 2015, 90,000 MT, out of a target of 180,000 MT of fertiliser was procured and distributed to farmers countrywide.
In compliance with the Plant and Fertiliser Act, 2010 (Act 803), the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) in collaboration with relevant stakeholders analysed 11 out of 60 newly introduced fertiliser samples.
Only four met the technical and regulatory requirements. In 2016, the remaining 49 fertiliser samples will be analysed in order to ensure good quality fertilisers and increased productivity.